1. Becoming More Competitive

They were defeated by the San Diego Chargers, 22-14, in Week 1 (they were behind 22-6 until the final minute), and they fell to the Miami Dolphins, 35-13, in Week 2.

After a win over Pittsburgh that in all honesty was a bit of a fluke, they lost to the Denver Broncos by 31 points. Things certainly weren't looking very good as they left for Atlanta and a game against the only remaining undefeated team in the league.

But they hung tough against the Falcons in a 23-20 defeat, showing grit and perseverance.

Now, Raiders fans may not be partying in the streets like certain Bay Area baseball fans are at the moment, but these last two weeks have been promising. And with a very winnable game against the Kansas City Chiefs up next, this team may just be able to turn things around.

2. Offensive Output

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It's been awhile since Oakland's been considered an offensive juggernaut, and this year is no different. But despite amassing just 14 points in their first game and 13 in their second, the Raiders have improved dramatically in the scoring department.

They put up 34 against a tough Steelers D, but just six against the Broncos the next week out. The Steelers game was a bit of an anomaly, but the same can be said for their contest at Denver as well. This team isn't going to be held to 10 points or less very often.

Consider the past couple weeks in which Oakland has averaged 23.5 points per game. If you throw out the games against Pittsburgh and Denver, that's still an average of 10 more points per game than they put up in the first couple weeks.

The offense is often the last part of the football team to click during the season, and if the past couple weeks are any indication, the Raiders O is going to have opposing defenses on their heels more often.

But in the past couple weeks, they've stepped it up a notch. The Raiders allowed Falcons QB Matt Ryan to throw for just 249 yards, despite the embarrassing amount of riches he has to pass it to.

Last week, the D allowed just 110 yards passing to Blaine Gabbert. Obviously, Gabbert is nowhere near the signal-caller that Ryan is, but it's a positive sign that both were limited by an improving Raiders secondary.

4. Spreading It Around Through the Air

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Can you name the player with the most catches for Oakland in their season-opening loss against San Diego? If you named an actual wide receiver, you'd be incorrect. It was Darren McFadden, with 13. That's a whopping eight more grabs than the next guy.

Having a running back who can also catch the ball out of the backfield is never a bad thing, but when he's leading your team in receptions, something's not right.

But if you were to look at the current statistics for Raiders receivers, you'd find both Denarius Moore and tight end Brandon Myers at the top of the list, with over 300 yards each. In the third spot is Derek Hagan, followed by DarriusHeyward-Bey.

After the Chargers game, the team has had three different guys not named McFadden lead the team in receptions.

The running game may not be clicking like the Raiders had hoped it would by this point, but the passing attack has spread the wealth in recent games with great results.